Old Albanians v Cinderford preview

February 7, 2014

Cinderford On the Road to Old Albanians

Saturday 8th February #Nat1 KO 3.00pm

Once again last weekend’s Cinderford National 1 home game was called off as a consequence of the weather and instead the squad attended a Saturday morning training session indoors, ensuring that they are fully prepared for the road trip to Old Albanians. Looking to build on their 2014 away form, the Forest side held indepth opponent game analysis on Thursday before training. The last time the two teams met, Cinderford were victorious with a 15-10 win.

“The boys are hungry to play rugby and with the freshness that a break affords us, we play this to our advantage,” said Andy Deacon, director of rugby. “Despite the results not going in our favour last weekend, it always appears worse when you don’t play. If we had played and won our position wouldn’t look really as bad. In a position of strength we have two games in hand and we know we have to win them.”
“There’s always pressure at this level, but as long as destiny is in our own hands we have the positive ability to affect our league position. It’s very tight and you could see a team with 10 wins under their belt get relegated which is unheard of and just goes to show how competitive this league is, but my focus is 100% positive in climbing the table, I have complete confidence in achieving this.”

“The OA game will be challenging and we must carry on playing with the drive, desire and accuracy that we have shown in training We went there last year and should have won. They keep the ball well and play from anywhere with a good set of three-quarters but I don’t think they are as strong as last season. They are a good team and we have to respect them but at the same time they are very beatable if we perform like we did against Henley, as a complete team. And with the weather gods on our side, we look forward to playing at home for the first time this year (!) both on 15th February against Wharfedale, followed by the rearranged Blaydon game on the 22nd.”
Other team news sees Cinderford United home to Old Albanian 2nds, with the Stags also at home to Matson RFC – both kick off at 2.30pm. Good luck to all Cinderford teams.